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Ver Eshalakh cutter
4x heavy disruptor cannons, photon torpedo launcher (10 torpedoes) 2x disruptor turrets, photon torpedo launcher (10 torpedoes) | defenses = Deflector shield | shuttle = | image2 = | caption2 = }} Ver Eshalakh cutters were a family of several models of sublight patrol ships used by the Ver Eshalakh, the security agency of the Pe'khdar Nation. The Flight XII model was roughly twice the size of a Starfleet runabout. They formed the backbone of the agency's space arm and were used primarily for customs enforcement, intra-system personnel transport, and defense of the realm. Structure The cutter was wedge-shaped with a large impulse thruster bank astern. From bow to stern the crew compartment contained a cockpit, passenger compartment, armory, and reactor room. The seats in the passenger compartment had attachments for shackles to restrain prisoners. It also featured a second, half-height deck below the crew compartment that provided storage space and housed the fore and aft photon torpedo magazines. Technical Data The common feature of all cutters was that they lacked warp drive, and therefore could not reach or exceed lightspeed. The design tradeoff was originally made with the Flight I model of 2250 due to the size of the warp drives available to the Pe'khdar at that time. Miniaturized systems since became available, but the Pe'khdar shipwrights still eschewed warp drive in favor of devoting the necessary space to other systems. In exchange for lacking warp capability, the cutter had the highest thrust-to-weight ratio of any ship in either the Alpha or Beta Quadrants, giving it greater acceleration than any potential opponent. The Flight XII version also featured surprisingly heavy armament and deflector shields for its size: It is armed with quad disruptor cannons forward and twin disruptor turrets aft, and fore and aft torpedo launchers. Coupled with its acceleration and agility, it outperformed several classes of much larger dedicated light warships such as the Jem'hadar attack ship and Bird-of-Prey. Due to its small size, however, it lacked their photon torpedo capacity. History The cutters were first launched in 2250 to replace the Ferengi shuttles used by the Ver Eshalakh for the first fifteen years of its existence. Initially they were not particularly capable combat vessels, although three could outmatch a Klingon Bird-of-Prey of the era. Pe'khdar engineering gradually improved over time, and by the time the Flight X model was released in 2368 they were comparable to a runabout in abilities. Until 2372 they had mostly only been used in skirmishes with pirate ships. However, in that year a Klingon Defense Force battle group warped into the Dar Klatus system and declared it territory of the Klingon Empire, with the intent of using the conveniently located system as a forward base to attack Starfleet positions in the . The Council of Clans understandably refused, but the Ver Eshalakh's fleet of cutters and its single warp-capable ship, an outdated warbird called the Rendakh, proved no match for a fleet containing ten Birds-of-Prey, four battlecruisers, two battlecruisers, and a battlecruiser. Chief Officer Cher'math, Clan Arndekh ordered a force of cutters to hold off the Klingons as long as they could so that the Rendakh could escape into warp, and seventeen were lost holding back the . Over the next two weeks the Ver Eshalakh resorted to hit-and-run attacks, destroying three Birds-of-Prey in ambushes in the Oort Cloud. The Rendakh returned with a Starfleet task force under Vice Admiral Chovex, and together they drove the Klingons out of the system. The overall poor performance of the Ver Eshalakh fleet in the Battle of Dar Klatus gave the Council of Clans a reason to fund a drastic increase in the cutters' capabilities. The Flight XI cutter launched in 2374 proved an impressive improvement over the Flight X, a close match for a one-on-one. The 2385 Flight XII remained more than competitive with the light warships of other polities even as late as 2409. Category:Pe'khdar Category:Starship classes